Foreigner in a Foreign Land
by PinappleSquid
Summary: Alola seems like a pretty nice place assuming you actually want to be there. Unfortunately, Boa would much rather be anyplace less hot, humid, and otherwise demanding to a girl who would just like to catch a break. But as she becomes more enveloped in this strange land, she may just find she what her heart yearns for most, or not. Probably not. Definitely not.
1. Chapter 1

The slow, warm air of the evening was heavy with the sweetness of tropical flowers that made it feel as though Boa was breathing into a paper bag with an air freshener in it.

"Dear Mom, why did you pick possibly the least comfortable climate to live?" Boa huffed to herself while hauling her body up the dirt road that was at a slight upward incline. "Even a desert would have been better, at least it wouldn't be so _humid_. Feels like I'm walking around in a sauna, just with less wet person smell."

Boa continued to mumble and wheeze her way along, silently wishing her mom was more of the sedentary type who would just pick a place to live and root herself there instead of the fickle, move-happy mother she was who had on a whim decided they would leave Sinnoh for Unova, then Unova for Kanto, and now Kanto for Alola.

Now, Kanto has never been known for its cool climate but neither had it ever attempted to suffocate anyone for simply existing unlike Alola which seemed to be trying its best to be as unpleasant as possible.

Boa stopped walking for a minute, leaned against a palm tree, and reveled in the shade the plant provided. Her and her mom had arrived the night before and Boa had spent the whole morning running around the house, carrying boxes, and unpacking. She was afforded a break when a man in a tattered lab coat and hardly anything else practically invited himself in and invited Boa to attend the festival that was happening later in the day.

That had been a few hours ago, and Boa began to regret accepting the moment she stepped out of the house and realized that it was one of the hottest days of the year outside and that she was overheated as it was given all she'd done that morning. However, Boa was determined to at least attend for an hour or so and she knew she would have to acclimate soon anyways.

Shielding her eyes from the sun, Boa gazed up the path and noticed a few houses scattered up the way. "That better be Icky Town, or whatever it's called," she murmured and wiped the thin layer of sweat from her brow. Boa pushed her hat down to keep out the sun and trudged up the remaining bit of the road, ignoring a young trainer who seemed interested in a battle but upon seeing the concentration on Boa's face decided to scuff the ground with his shoe instead.

Boa stepped up the handful of stairs that led up to the town and let out a grand sigh while Professor Kukui shuffled over to her in his sandals.

"You look pretty worn out, kid. Alolan weather sure can take a toll on foreigners, yeah?" The professor placed his hand on Boa's shoulder and they walked to the center of the town where a large wooden platform had been laid. The surface was painted with markings that reminded Boa of the floor of a gym. "Anyway, I want you to meet the kahuna. He's already heard a bit about you, yeah, and that you were something of a trainer in Kanto. Got a couple of badges, do you?"

Boa nodded half-heartedly. "I've got one from Unova and four from Kanto. Doesn't add up to a full set, but I probably could if I gave it a shot," or if she'd been given the time, though Boa kept that to herself since she didn't want it to get back to her mom.

"Cool stuff," Kukui said and patted Boa on the shoulder while he searched around him for the kahuna. "Has anybody seen Hala?"

A man in a white t-shirt who leaned on the door of a building close to the stage looked up and said, "just missed 'em. Somebody came around complaining that his tauros got into their yard again and was diggin' up some of the berry plants, or was bothin' their pokemon, or somethin'. You know how that ornery thing is. Might've charged its reflection again, too."

Kukui smiled and put his hands on his sides. "Yeah, I figured just as much. Guess we'll just wait 'til Hala gets back. You can have a look around since the festival won't officially start 'til the kahuna's around. In fact," Kukui reached into the pocket of his lab coat only for his hand to go through a hole, and then stuck his hand in an adjacent pocket and pulled out a red berry that filled his palm, "why don't you go to Tapu Koko's shine and leave an offering? It'll be a new experience for you since I don't think there's anything like that in Kanto!"

"Well, there are some shrines for the three elemental birds, but I never took the time to see any of them," Boa said as she took the berry in her hand. Looking at the crimson fruit, Boa couldn't help but feel a bit remorseful that it was going to go to waste at a shrine since, as far as she was concerned, these mythical creatures probably had something better to do than accept the meager gifts from worshippers.

"Just follow Mahalo Trail up that way and you can't miss it." And with that the professor was swept up by a couple of kids who were eagerly waiting to ask questions about the moves their pokemon could learn.

Boa circled around the platform to the path over which a tunnel of greenery grew and provided an escape from the heat. She sighed under the shadows of the plants, strolling slowly along to draw out the relieving experience. Here the flower's fragrance wasn't as overpowering, or perhaps her nose had gone blind to the smell.

The tunnel, however, was short-lived and soon Boa was thrust back out into the summer's grasp, though there was a mild breeze there that breathed some coolness into the air. But there were also more steps.

Boa tilted her head up to gaze at the hill past the rim of her hat and considered how much she actually cared about getting the berry to the shrine. When she had just about decided to turn around and sit in the tunnel until the kahuna person arrived, she noticed someone further along the path heading up the hill.

Normally Boa wouldn't have cast a second glance, but who she saw seemed too perfectly out-of-place not to. The girl wore all white, from the wide-brimmed hat atop her head to the simple dress that she carefully maneuvered to avoid getting it caught on a branch. Everyone else Boa had seen thus far wore what looked like the first thing they found in their dresser that morning, so seeing a bit of class wandering further into the more remote regions of the island seemed plenty unusual.

Curiosity in hand, Boa pushed her brown hair from her face and mustered up the energy to scale the incline in pursuit of whoever that was, and to leave the fruit at the shrine of course.

* * *

Boa lost sight of the girl up until she had reached the crest of the hill and the girl in white stood just beyond the where the path opened up to an old hazardous bridge that swayed and groaned just loud enough to be made out over the gentle crashing of the waterfall.

From where she stood Boa couldn't see past the girl, but Boa could hear that the girl was yelling something indistinguishable to Boa except for the soft yet firm chastising tone, like a mother to her child. Leaning from side to side, Boa tried to glance past the other girl to see what she was fussing over but could only make out a small thing upon the bridge.

"Uh, is everything good or do you need some help or…?" Boa managed to speak over the shouting and the groaning and the waterfall to the result of the girl turning around wide-eyed and looking particularly startled.

"Oh my, I didn't know anyone had noticed me leave!" the girl exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand and turning away worriedly. "But since you're here and you offered, I do indeed need help. If you can see there," the girl moved out of the way and pointed to the bridge, "my Nebby's gone off on his own again and won't listen to a thing I say! If you could, would you please go up to him? I'm sure he'll listen if you go up to him."

Boa gave the girl a puzzled look. "Why don't you go after him yourself?"

The girl gave a look equally as puzzled. "Why, my dress would get caught on the planks! Look at how some of them jut up, being as broken as they are. That and.." the girl again covered her mouth, this time bashfully, "I don't deal with heights very well."

"And what makes you think I'm any better?" Boa responded bitingly and sighed immediately afterward. "Sorry, I'm just kind of tired, sweaty, and not in any mood to be decent. I'll try to get your pokemon back for you."

"Oh, thank you so much! The name's Lillie by the way"

"Gretchen, but I prefer Boa," Boa replied as she slid past Lillie and approached the bridge with rising apprehension. The thing appeared beyond battered, with several planks missing and those that were left looking in no condition to support the weight of a person, even a 17-year-old girl who was thinner than some.

"Why did the professor even send me this way in the first place? Maybe he doesn't want to deal with another trainer and though this would be a surefire way to make sure that didn't happen," Boa muttered to herself, placing a foot on the nearest plank and gauging whether or not to continue. "You know, this really doesn't seem like a good idea. Like, at all," she called over her shoulder to the girl waiting patiently behind her (at a safe distance, of course). "Could you maybe just catch another one? Or, I dunno, just wait a little bit for yours to come back on his own?"

Lillie was fairly offended, though Boa couldn't see it. "Nebby is one-of-a-kind! I really just want to make sure he's safe and he might fall through the planks if we just leave him there," the girl in the white dress exclaimed, throwing her arms down to her sides in frustration.

"Alright, geez," Boa huffed just soft enough to make sure Lillie didn't heard. Inching forward, the first plank groaned and bent slightly under the pressure but seemed to hold steady. Boa grabbed the rope which was covered in a thin layer of moss that made the surface slippery and generally unpleasant.

Breathing as steadily as she could, Boa took a step, and another, and another, stopped at an exceptionally loud creak, cursed, and took another few steps until at her feet was a small gaseous creature that reminded Boa of the night sky. He gazed up at her with pink star-like eyes and smiled.

"I'm glad you're cute, otherwise this wouldn't of been worth the trouble!" Boa smiled back at Nebby and picked the thing up as best she could, though it was particularly difficult given that he wasn't solid. "Now, I'll just get you back-"

Boa had only just turned around when something delivered a firm blow to the back of her head. Violently swatting the air above her, Boa yelped and ducked her head to avoid further attack. The fluttering of wings alerted her to another incoming blow but she was unable to dodge it or to reach for the pokeball at her side thanks to Nebby. Boa attempted to run back towards the cliff but tripped over a plank that jutted out. Without time to think, she turned to her side and embraced the small pokemon in her arms.

The rotted planks snapped under her and the two of them began to fall.


	2. Chapter 2

_Oh wow, I hadn't expected there to be much of a reception given how many Alolan-based stories there are at the moment! I'm glad people are enjoying this though. Won't be updates as often after this one, but hopefully I'll still find time to work on this!_

* * *

The world had gone silent.

Boa remained with her body curled tight around the gaseous pokemon. Her thoughts had drained away in the sheer panic, and so she stayed perfectly still and she waited for whatever came next.

What came next was a light pressure on her side, cool and the slightest bit irritating to the skin, followed by the familiar humble scent of earth and grass. She opened her eyes. To Boa's amazement, they were laid upon the grass a few feet from the cliff where the raging water foamed and beckoned from far below.

Bolting straight up, she kicked at the ground and scooted away from the edge, gasping and tightening her grip from the residual fear that welled up at the sight of the drop.

"O-Oh my! Did… was that- are you alright?" Lillie's words tripped over themselves as she tried to express every thought that passed through her head but she settled for the one with the most hospitality. She rushed over as quickly as she could while maintaining her posterior and dress, and bent down to make sure the two were alright. "Oh Nebby, I was so worried!" Or, at least, to make sure one of them was alright.

Boa's arms slacked as Lillie removed the gaseous pokemon from Boa's embrace. Boa hardly took any notice. Her body was drenched in a cold sweat- or maybe the spray from the river- as she stared at the bridge where the planks hung like broken teeth and swung in an ever-shifting grin.

They sat in silence for a minute or two and then, with a great sigh that helped to relieve her tension, Boa collapsed on her back and placed the palms of her hands over her eyes. "Whatever happened, thank Arceus we made it."

"I believe you should be thanking Tapu Koko. After all, he's the one who saved the two of you," Lillie said without a hint of condescension. Her eyes lit up for a second, remembering something, and she produced from next to her a stone, like a piece of marble countertop, that was polished on its face and had markings carved into the surface. "He seems to have left this for you."

Removing her hands from her face, Boa took the curious fragment, turned it over a few times, and asked, "what is this exactly, his calling card?"

Lillie shook her head. "I'm not sure what it is, but it must be important if he left it here."

Boa looked the stone over once more and placed it on her stomach. "Alright, cool."

They again sat in as much silence as they could with the roar of the waterfall when faintly in the distance there was something like the sound of an exotic heartbeat. "The festival! I almost forgot with all this commotion," Lillie gasped and carefully rose from her spot on the ground. "We best get back before anyone worries."

Boa groaned and rose to her feet, placed the slab she'd been gifted into the satchel on her side, and followed shortly behind the white dress.

* * *

By the time they'd made their way back down to Iki Town, the festival appeared to be in full swing with the torches scattered around the town having been lit and a decent crowd having gathered outside. Kukui stood off to the side of the stage next a boy and another man who strained his shirt when he laughed and who Boa assumed was the kahuna.

The professor waved. "Boa, Kahuna Hala has been waiting for you!"

"Alola! Nice to see you, finally," Hala said, his voice amplified by his gut but somewhat muffled by his mustache. "I'd like you to meet my grandson, Hau." The kahuna pushed forward the boy who waved feverishly and smiled a little too much, "and it looks like you've already got acquainted with Lillie over here!"

Boa kept up a nervous smile and shook hands with Hala and his grandson.

"Now, I've heard from Kukui here that you trained in Kanto for a while, right? Well, how would you like to participate in the festival to honor Tapu Koko?" Hala offered, and Hau shook his head up and down to let Boa know she should accept.

"I mean, sure, sounds interesting," Boa shrugged a little before realizing a moment later that she had no clue what exactly she had agreed to.

Professor Kukui clasped his hands together and exclaimed, "Great! Hau, wanna be her partner on this one?"

The professor had hardly finished his question when Hau had already jumped to the task and was waiting by the platform with pokeball in hand and smiling all the while.

"Wait, what am I doing?" Boa asked Kukui who had led her to the stage.

"Just having a quick little battle, as is tradition," he informed her and placed a foot on the step of the wooden stage.

Boa wasn't sure if she had another question or not since she was already up on the stage and looking mildly confused at the small crowd that had gathered at the foot of the platform. The drum that had been beating all the while in the background had gone silent and that only thing to prick Boa's ear was the soft crackling of charred wood.

Kahuna Hala stood between the two combatants, his gaze moving from Hau to Boa before nodding. "As a newcomer to Alola, Boa, you can choose who's to send out their pokemon first."

"Let him go first," Boa mumbled, the heat from the eyes of the crowd and the fires making her feel uncomfortable in her own skin.

Hau, on the other hand, appeared unfazed by the crowd. In fact, he seemed invigorated by the attention as he danced around in his sandals. "Okay Razzle, go!" and by his feet a small black and red kitten materialized and appeared equally as unfazed as his trainer, though it seemed more out of boredom than anything.

Reaching for her only pokemon, Boa breathed in and out and reminded herself about the similar crowds that were around when she had battled in gyms in Unova and Kanto. There was hardly anything different from this, except for how close everyone was to the stage that made Boa afraid to take any steps for she might step on someone's hand.

"You ready Cally?" Boa murmured to her pokemon. "No going back now."

Before Boa appeared a sand colored pokemon who leaned on the femur of some unknown creature. The marowak opened a single eye to her opponent and continued on to pretend she was only half interested in the impending battle.

Whatever excitement Hau had at that moment quickly seeped out through his feet and left him looking a bit stunned. He looked up at his grandfather who sat perfectly still and unalarmed, and then he looked at Kukui who had pulled out a red, rectangular device and he grinned when he pointed it at Cally.

A moment passed and Boa waited for Hau to make the first move, but the boy seemed entirely too occupied with staring pleadingly from Hala to the professor. Occasionally Hau seemed about to say something but then shut his mouth and looked even more worried than before.

Finally, after it got to the point that the audience was beginning to share some of Hau's concern, Kukui lifted his hand, called time, and hauled himself onto the stage. He walked- well, he more shuffled since he never lifted his feet high enough to keep them from scraping the wood- over to Boa's marowak and was noticeably impressed.

"That the only pokemon you have with you?" the professor inquired, though his face was turned down as he dug around in his lab coat.

"Y-yes?" Boa stuttered, fairly unnerved at having everything come to a halt on her behalf.

Professor Kukui chuckled and held out two pokeballs that gleamed with the light of the surrounding torches. "I think things might be more interesting if we evened the playing field, yeah? Pick either of 'em. They're sure to be itching to warm up with a battle."

Her hand drifting over each of the pokeballs, Boa eventually settled for the one on the left since she usually had luck with that side anyway. She examined the shimmering crimson capsule but couldn't determine its contents.

"I don't know who you are, but let's hope you good," Boa muttered and cast out whichever pokemon she happened to have, while Cally moved out of the way and sat down next to where Boa stood, somewhat offended that she'd been replaced.

Unsurprisingly, the pokemon that materialized was one Boa had never had the pleasure of seeing before, for it had a small, round face and large, curious eyes that regarded Boa with some fascination.

Boa couldn't help but think that it looked quite cute.

The professor, who had already removed himself from the stage, stood on the ground behind Boa and said, "Looks like you picked rowlet! Might be weak to Hau's litten, but I'm sure you'll manage. Yeah, just so you know, Rowlet knows tackle and leafage currently."

Boa thought about turning around to Kukui and complaining about how this didn't seem entirely fair, but decided against it even if she was annoyed at having been completely stripped of the advantage.

"Dazzle, ember!" Hau shouted, snapping Boa back into the moment. The fire kitten arched its back and coughed out a meager ball of flame that bounced towards the round rowlet.

"Rowlet, flying out of the way," Boa moved her arms up as if she were trying to lift something and the flying pokemon took to the air. "Huh, wasn't sure that would work, but good job Rowlet. Now tackle 'em!"

The bird obeyed and swooped down at the litten, delivering a strong blow from its stubby wings. Dazzle recoiled, hissed and swiped at the air, clipping Rowlet in the wing and bringing the grass-type tumbling to the ground. With his opponent downed, the kitten placed his paws on top of Rowlet and kept the bird pokemon pinned down with the sharpened tips of his claws and stood proudly.

The grounded flying-type hooed in defeat and Boa felt a pang of sympathy for the poor thing.

With the battle over before it had really started, Kahuna Hala waved his hand to signal the end of the match and Hau jumped in triumph and scooped up his pokemon with glee. The rowlet picked itself up as soon as the weight was removed and began preening its feathers as if nothing had happened and it hadn't just lost.

Boa was somewhat perplexed at Rowlet and how quickly it recovered. "What, were you just pretending?" she asked the bird pokemon when she kneeled beside it. Rowlet looked at her and tilted its head to the side. It stared at her unblinking for the longest time. Finally Boa asked, "did you figure you weren't going to win?" The rowlet blinked.

"Kind of a defeatist, aren't you?"

The bird ruffled its feathers and continued to clean them unabated.

"Fine, just ignore me then."

A pair of orange shoes entered Boa's vision just as she was about to return Rowlet to its pokeball. She tilted her head far back to see past the brim of her hat.

"Is your rowlet okay?" Hau asked while cuddling his litten. The boy's eyes were wide with a genuine concern that made Boa rather confused.

"He looks fine doesn't he?" she said slowly, pointing to the grass-type who was continuing to preen.

Hau shuffled his feet and looked away sheepishly. "Well, I guess… I just wanted to make sure, that's all. Did you have fun?" The joy in his voice returned a second after it was gone and in that instance Boa realized how much younger he was than her.

"Sure, as fun as getting kicked so bad that you don't even last a minute could be," Boa responded with an unintentional sarcastic bitterness that was meant as an attack on Hau's sincerity. Shaking her head, Boa chuckled and said, "but in all seriousness, your litten was pretty good out there. Maybe he can even take on my marowak one day."

Hau seemed completely immune to Boa's initial comment and brimmed with a wide grin at her compliment. "Really? Hear that, Dazzle? We're one more step to getting as good as Grandpa Hala!"

While Hau dashed away into the gathering of people there to congratulate him on his win, Boa returned the rowlet to its ball and looked around for Kukui. She spotted him leaning against the stage and conversing with the kahuna.

"Here, professor, you should take him back," Boa mumbled, the capsule held out to Kukui.

"You sure you don't want to keep the little guy?" Professor Kukui said, adjusting his sunglasses as if he was seeing wrong.

"I think I'm better off just sticking with Cally for now."

The professor nodded and took the pokeball back. "Suit yourself."

With her charge gone, Boa said her goodbyes, though she couldn't find Lillie around. But just as Boa was about to leave Iki Town for home, she was suddenly reminded of the stone from earlier when she noticed the weight of her bag.

"Professor, you mentioned something about this being a festival for Tapu Koko, right? Well, I think he might have given this to me while I was on that trail," Boa explained as she sifted through her bag and removed the flat chunk of stone.

At the sight of the stone, Kukui removed his glasses in a flash and held the slab up to the light of a nearby torch. "Hala, would you look at that! Yeah, it's been ages since I saw one of these things."

"You know very well that I know that, now let me see," Hala was handed the stone that glistened in the warm orange light. He ran his palm across the surface and made a noise of satisfaction. "Yes, this will do."

The kahuna turned to Boa and told her, "I'd like to hold on to this for a little while. Don't worry, you'll get it back from me sometime tomorrow!"

"But what is it exactly?" Boa questioned, not entirely concerned about whether or not she would get it back again.

"Oh, something extraordinary, I assure you! You may not know it now, but this stone has quite the secret to tell, and you may well be just the one to wield it."


End file.
